We all have a rhythm of energy that fluctuates throughout the day. For example, would you consider yourself a morning person or a night owl? Is there a time of day when you are really productive? Are there other times of day when all you want to do is take a nap?

There are even seasonal rhythms of energy. I consider the start of a new school year to be my time to start fresh with new goals and intentions, even more so than the start of the calendar year. Spring is usually a crazy time of year because both kids play sports and have busy schedules (the things we do for our kids!), that by the time summer arrives, I’m ready to be dormant for a while and take a nice break, mentally and physically.

Over the years I’ve experimented with many different methods of time management. The problem with most of them for me was that other people’s formulas of when to do things and what activities to do just didn’t work for me.

At one point, I found Julie Morgenstern’s book, “‘Time Management from the Inside Out” to be very helpful. She had an exercise to help identify one’s own energy cycles. Simply fill in the blanks to these statements:

• Mornings are the best time for me to ______________________, and the worst time for me to______________________.
• Afternoons are the best time for me to ______________________, and the worst time for me to______________________.
• Evenings are the best time for me to ______________________, and the worst time for me to______________________.
• Late at night is the best time for me to ______________________, and the worst time for me to______________________.

I discovered that an awareness of my high and low energy points of the day could give me a better clue about what activities to do and when, based on my capacity to concentrate and how much time I had available to do things. I also realized how my energy fluctuates throughout the year based on when my kids are in school and the activities they’re doing.

A few months ago, I found a great time management resource with free planning pages on the Productive Flourishing blog, and an exercise called Heatmapping your Productivity. You print out this circular “map” with 24 pie pieces, and each piece represents one hour. Based on the directions in the article, you fill in each piece with a certain color after you’ve determined the “productivity capacity” for that hour. When you’re done, you end up with a visual illustration of “the amount of productivity that you’re capable of in a given amount of time”.

Note that this capacity is directly related to your daily rhythm and the amount of mental and physical energy you have to be really productive. Once you do this exercise, compare your answers to the fill-in-the-blank section above. Now, think about how you’re currently spending your time every day. Are there small adjustments you can make in your day to work with your unique rhythm?

One of the best changes I recently made happened after I realized that one of the reasons why I hated cooking dinner was because dinner preparation would occur at precisely my very WORST time of day. My energy is at its lowest from about 5:30-7:30pm. In contrast, between 7:00-8:00 am or 1:00-2:00 pm are times of day when I’m either ramping up my energy or in between lunch and getting ready to pick up the kids. I’m not in full-on work mode at these times.

Once I started making dinner or prepping most of it in the morning or the middle of the day, dinner no longer was a chore. My husband often helps get the rest of dinner together in the evenings now, so sometimes I don’t have to do anything to help get the meal on the table. This minor change, by working with my natural rhythm, has helped my family to curb our excursions out to eat, saving us money and time, and I’m a much more pleasant person to be around in the evening!

With respect to my work, I know that morning classes are easier for me to teach, mid to late morning is when I can write, and late evening after the kids go to bed is really the best time to catch up on email and social media (still working on not getting distracted during the day by these activities!).

As far as seasonal rhythms go, I pretty much know I can’t take on major projects during the summer or from mid-November through early January because of my kids’ school schedules, holidays, and birthdays. My family time is important, and honestly, their energy mixed with mine in the same house scrambles my brain, and I take about 50 times longer to get big things done.

I encourage you to take a look at your energy patterns, both daily and seasonally, to discover your natural, unique rhythmn. By doing these exercises, you may find ways to free up more time and energy, yet get more done! Awareness is priceless!

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